I have been a violin teacher for many years now and find it most fulfilling as a source of income whilst waiting for that big break;) Coming from a varied background of music i teach in a fairly unconventional way. Of course the logisitics of playing the violin need to be addressed before the preferred genre of music is to be attempted. How to hold the damn thing and make some semblance of a nice tone most likely puts a lot of aspiring violinists off as it does take a while to ‘get going’ with this instrument. In comparison to say the piano where you place your finger on a note and there it is! A beautiful, in tune note! (Provided the piano is in good nick!) That is not to say that the piano is easier than the violin. Noooo way!!!! Have you ever tried to read chords on 2 clefs at one time?? Not the easiest thing in the world…
So, as a classically trained violinist, i generally try to get my students to read music from the word go. Simply to keep their options open. I know plenty of exceptional musicians who don’t read a note or have poor reading skills and find it much easier to learn by ear. I come from a country where music is traditionally learned by ear and in some circles it is frowned upon, in a jovial way, if you use the sheet music in a music session. Therefore, for me, it is important to teach in a variety of ways so that a student who may not have super reading skills, doesn’t struggle through the entire lesson and home practice. Reading music is very handy though and with perserverance, people get the hang of the basics pretty quick.
Back in my day, where i am from, music in secondary/high schools is generally taught in the classical way. Folk groups in schools were few and far between and were usually run by the students themselves. Therefore, it was down to community groups, music seisuns and family to keep the traditions alive. Thankfully, in Ireland, that is rife!
Here in New Zealand there are pockets of folk music going on in every corner it seems. You just need to know where to look. A student of mine recently had her first experience of our weekly Irish music seisun in Arrowtown, Otago and played a tune with the gang. I think it was a welcome realisation that although you may suggest a tune to play, you don’t even need to start it but just play along if you like, hidden by the rest of the band;) It felt good to introduce someone to that world and i am hoping that a couple more of my students will make their debut appearances in the very near future. Performance is a hard thing to break into. Especially if you are prone to nerves. So these music seisuns are a relaxed way to give it a go! If you sit in on enough of them too, magically the tunes seep into your brain and before you know it, the fingers are doing the work! Playing with other instruments also trains the ear to different frequencies and textures within the music. It can be quite inspiring and exciting to discover the mixture of sounds you can make together. Read our recent blog about folk music instruments. https://www.choicerhythms.com/folk-music-instruments-april-in-otago/
Once i hit 15/16 yrs i was more interested in Grunge than classical. I still faithfully attended orchestra rehearsals and concerts until an age where i was too old to be in a youth ensemble;)) However, i had joined a band and that seemed to me, not only very cool, but a natural path as i enjoyed improvising, and to make original music with like-minded souls was awesome to say the least. Nowadays, I encourage students to play along with their favourite songs. Pick out the key note, practise the scale if you know it and blast away. It’s the only way to start feeling comfortable about jamming. Of course if you have people to jam with that’s even better. Form a band and get going. I am proud to say that the very first band i was in, every one of us is still involved in the Arts and most of us play music professionally. Music leads to all sorts of avenues and the network of people you create is magical.
I also like to get students to listen to and go to concerts/gigs where they can see varying styles of violin playing in different genres. The violin is a versatile instrument and the quicker students can be exposed to that notion the better as it can be inspiring to realise that you can play along and create with your favourite genres.
The band i am in, for example, is a blend of folk styles with electronica. Folktronica! I use a loop station to combine guitar, violin and vocals whilst Paul plays a percussive drumkit with heavy bass lines he produces through a sample pad. The sound is influenced by a number of genres including Celtic, Classical, Drum’n bass and Dub so we end up with an Ambient yet upbeat sound. If you would like to listen to some violin playing on our latest E.P. and receive a FREE download while you’re at it, visit www.choicerhythms.com. Or simply add your email address and click download on this page.
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